Asian Football Confederation postpones the 2027 Asian Cup because of conflict in the Middle East

The Asian Football Confederation has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup by almost a year because of the conflict in the Middle East and security concerns in Saudi Arabia.

The AFC issued a statement Tuesday saying after extensive consultations with Saudi organizers it had decided to push the tournament kickoff back from Jan. 7 to Dec. 23.

The organizing committee "approved to reschedule the flagship national team tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions," the AFC said in a statement.

"Exceptional circumstances have been created for the organization and delivery of the competition as originally scheduled, making the postponement necessary in the interest of all participating teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders. "The new dates - Dec. 23, 2027 to Jan. 21, 2028, will be submitted to FIFA for approval.

The decision to delay the tournament ends months of speculation about a postponement which, until recently, had been rejected by local organizers. As recently as last week, Saudi officials released the kickoff times and finalized schedule for the 2027 tournament in a move aimed at assuring continental soccer federations that planning was on track despite deadly recent attacks in Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Muhammed Q. Alghamdi, a spokesman for the organizing committee, last month told members at an Asian Football Confederation meeting in Tokyo that "daily life is ongoing in Saudi Arabia," despite the regional hostilities. Before that meeting, AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had indicated that the Asian Cup could be be postponed by a year if necessary, saying "we can wait until the end of November" to make a decision."

The monthlong tournament was scheduled to feature 24 teams playing matches in eight venues across three cites - Riyadh, Jeddah, and Khobar. Iran has been grouped with with Syria, China and Kyrgyzstan for the league stage.